Monday, February 10, 2014

Share the Love; Shop Local

February 10, 2014
By: Sarah Boha

Have you found the perfect present for your sweetie this Valentine’s Day?  Don’t worry, you still have time with plenty of options that support your local businesses and who doesn’t love that?  Whether you’re looking for a diamond engagement ring to a dozen of the freshest hand dipped chocolate strawberries, there are plenty of choices in the Central Pennsylvania area. 

If your Valentine has a sweet tooth, look no further than Gardner’s Candies.  This candy store has been satisfying sweet tooth’s since 1897 and with 10 locations to patronize, including a new location in the TJ Maxx Plaza in State College, there is no shortage of candy to go around in the Centre region.  Gardner’s is boasting hand dipped chocolate covered strawberries enveloped in the famous Gardner’s chocolate.  For guaranteed freshness, the candy makers will be waking up extra early to hand dip each berry on Valentine’s Day, Friday, February 14th.  The chocolate covered strawberries will be available in strictly milk chocolate, an assortment of dark and milk chocolate and purely dark chocolate and you can secure your in store pick up by calling ahead.

I’m not going to go with the cliché, “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”, but at Kranich’s Jewelers you can find a whole cohort of her favorite confidents!  With diamond heart pendants starting at $99, you’ll have no lack of choices for even the pickiest of jewelry lovers.  With commercials for the latest jewelry trend, “Heartbeat Diamond Jewelry”, she may have mentioned that she wants the flickering diamond that captures brilliance with every beat of her heart – sounds romantic right?  You can find the whole collection at any one of Kranich’s four locations and preview the styles on their website. 

Heartbeat Diamond Jewelry starts at only $199 at Kranich’s Jewelers

I’ve always had a great experience at Woodring’s Floral Gardens located on S. Allen Street in State College and for that reason, I recommend them if you’re planning on surprising your date with flowers this Valentine’s Day.  With a wide variety of fresh flowers, Woodring’s Floral Gardens can assemble the perfect bouquet and have a full array of delivery options and three locations on their website.  This shop has always impressed me over the years, with floral arrangements meticulously displayed outside the shop and a boutique feel that reflects a warm and personal touch.

Perhaps your love has it all and you’re struggling to determine what to gift the woman or man who has everything.  With THON weekend commencing on February 21st, a donation toward the four diamond fund is a philanthropic gift going toward a very worthy cause.  To know that your donation will help the fight against pediatric cancer may be the best gift yet.  To make a donation, log onto THON’s website and click on the donate tab.  Know someone dancing in THON?  You have the choice of donating toward a specific THON dancer’s effort or you may donate to the general THON fund.


This Valentine’s Day, I implore you to find a gift by shopping local businesses or supporting causes unique to the area.  There are many wonderful businesses local to the area, whether you’re presenting the more traditional gift of candy, flowers and jewelry or shower your Valentine with Penn State gear from Old State Clothing Co., you’ll have plenty of ways to share the love by staying close to home.  What are some of your favorite local businesses in the Central Pennsylvania area?

Here are the links to shop your favorite local businesses –

To donate to THON visit -- https://thon.org/  Select the DONATE NOW tab

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